Games based on the shared universe created in the 1920s by American Horror writer H. P. Lovecraft

One of the true treats in literature is when an author is capable of creating a literary world. Not just a good book but a complete universe that encapsulates the story being told. J K Rowling's Harry Potter books are a perfect example of this. In her books we not only read about Harry Potter and his adventures at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry but we explore a magical world that exists side by side with us, in the shadows of our own very world. It's rare but for those authors who can create and flesh out these fictional universes it's a fantastic treat for their readers. Mind you this ability isn't limited to just writers of the traditional fictional novel. George Lucas did it with his Star Wars Universe. Gene Roddenberry with Star Trek, Stan Lee with the Marvel Super Hero Universe and L. Frank Baum with his Land of Oz. It is this creation of a complete world in which their stories take place that raises their work and helps the story being told reach a new level of depth for it's audience.

H P Lovecraft is one such writer. His creation is called the Cthulhu Mythos and it is a world of cosmic monsters, horror and madness. I'm not going to go into a long description of Lovecraft and his stories as it's to expansive to be covered properly in such a short space as a geeklist introduction and chances are you are already familiar with at least some elements of his fictional world. Perhaps more so than myself. My intent here is not to examine Lovecraft's world itself but to examine how games have allowed us to explore it in the same way games about Star Wars, Superheroes and Harry Potter allow us to explore the worlds created by people like George Lucas, Stan Lee and J K Rowling.

taken from: The world of H. P. Lovecraft or Cthulhu loathes you Geeklist